Harasim v. Cord Meyer Development Co‪.‬

On January 16, 2002, plaintiff Stanislaw Harasim (plaintiff), who was employed as a bricklayer by third-party defendant Camillo Contracting, Inc. (Camillo), was leveling excess stones with a shovel from the top of a retaining wall while standing on top of the retaining wall when he fell approximately 10 feet to the cement ground below, sustaining personal injuries. The retaining wall was located at a construction site located at the Bay Terrace Shopping Center on 26th Avenue between 210th Road and 211th Street in Queens, New York, which is owned by defendant Cord Meyer. It is undisputed that, at the time of the accident, plaintiffs foreman, Sal Baretta, was operating a Bobcat front loader at the bottom of the wall to pick up and deposit the stones on the other side of the wall while plaintiff stood on the wall using a shovel to level excess stones from the top of the wall to the other side of the wall, where the stones were being used to fill in the open space. Water and ice, which had accumulated in the pile of stones which Mr. Baretta was picking up with the Bobcat, were also deposited on the top of the wall along with the excess stones which plaintiff was leveling to the other side of the wall. It is uncontested that defendant Cord Meyer did not provide plaintiff with any safety devices, such as a safety belt or harness or safety net, to use for his protection while working on the top of the retaining wall.